Cohesion Dressing

Why you don't need to limit your style

The other day, Olympia Gayot was interviewed by

Taeste Bud

and she said;

I’m a Gemini, so my style changes based on the weather and how I’m feeling that day.

As a fellow Gemini, this made me feel so seen! But, regardless of your zodiac sign, I think a lot of us struggle to make our style solidify into something definable. I can’t pick just 3-words unless I get to pick 3 new words every day! Or, at least, every few months.

Yet, there’s a part of me that really envies when a person has very distinct style; when Allison Bornstein can analyze their looks and summarize it for me. I’ve written about uniforms and outfit recipes as a way to get at this.

But I’ve been thinking a lot about another hack for this. I’m calling it “Cohesion Dressing” and it gives me the space to grow and evolve my style without looking like I’m just playing dress up every day.

It started with an amazing post from my internet friend

Natalia Quintero Ochoa

about “Slideshow Dressing” which has been stuck in my mind ever since reading. Slideshow Dressing (which I’m calling Cohesion Dressing) comes from Elizabeth Holmes, a journalist who covers the British Royal Family and, as Natalia explains it,

(Slideshow dressing is about ) creating an intentional visual language through your clothes. It’s about curating a lineup of outfits that share subtle themes—could be through a color palette or even a silhouette. There’s a rhythm to it, and when done well, it creates a visually cohesive story across appearances.

“Visual cohesiveness” is really such a lovely way to think about personal style; a style that feels cohesive day-after-day.

Whether it’s finding colors that you enjoy repeating, or silhouettes that feel like you, or even the aforementioned outfit recipes; any of these subtle themes that our outfits share can create continuity in our wardrobe. And, really, that gives us space to move day-to-day, week-to-week, or season-to-season within styles that still feel like us.

It means that nearly all style-words can be used to describe your style as long as there is one something binding them together.

Maybe that something that binds your outfits is repeated pieces.

In her post, Natalia showcased her version of Cohesion Dressing by taking one item from the day before and remixing it into a new outfit the next day (and on and on). Honestly, look how flawlessly she pulled this off creating cohesion over a week of outfits. Not only did she remix items from the previous day but she stuck to similar silhouettes and color-story.

via Natalia Quintero Ochoa

I’ve written about the idea of “Change One Thing” outfits (took the paywall off this because I still think it’s quite good!) but this post was sort of focused on how different things can look rather than creating compatibility over the course of time. (As it turns out the practice of repeating pieces is good for both expanding your style OR creating visual cohesion.)

Similarly, we all know that Jane Birkin is known for the eponymous Birkin bag (did you see that Jane’s original Birkin bag will go up for auction on July 10?) but, actually, I associate Jane with her wicker basket bag just as much. The way Jane consistently carried her wicker basket adds so much visual cohesion to her looks; from street wear to red carpet attire.

By repeating pieces, they become part of our style DNA so we can stay grounded in our style no matter what occasion we are dressing for. AND the more often we repeat something, the more authentic it becomes to us too. I love the movement towards vintage shopping, but I think sometimes we treat it as a short-cut to creating the lived-in, patina that signals authenticity rather loving something and wearing it in ourselves.

As I was writing this, I actually got to thinking about vacation dressing. When we pack for a vacation, regardless of HOW one approaches it, we are often optimizing by repeating pieces and it creates a cohesion for that time (even if you transform your style for the vacation¹). I recently went away for a weekend and found myself reaching for the same shirt day after day. And, by chance, I happened to pack a lot of white bottoms- though all unique enough. It was one part outfit repeating and all very cohesive.

striped shirt ($110) // sunglasses ($244) // pom-pom pants ($98) // white shorts ($220) // grey sweater ($250) // white denim ($334)

The beauty of cohesion dressing is that we don’t have to throw out all our clothes and make a capsule (a la vacation); but rather we give ourselves the freedom to create cohesion through subtle themes over time.

As we slip in and out of different styles, I also love the idea of creating color cohesion.

I’m a big fan of

Mya Gelber

of

Primary School

and she is really well known for (you guessed it) wearing primary colors. I grabbed images of her recent outfits to show the power of these repeated colors (mostly blue and red). But, also, Mya is repeating her pieces! In the outfits on the left, Mya is leading with feminine details (ballet flats, lace and skirts) but then on the right she is prioritizing comfort with wide leg pants and cozy knits; the color story is allowing her style to feel cohesive despite the different aesthetics.

All outfits grabbed from this video or this one; both chock full of great inspiration

I’ve written about the color kick I’m on this year, but I’m trying to mindfully purchase pops of 1-2 colors. It wasn’t until now that I realized it can help me create continuity. If you wear a lot of neutrals, it can also make dipping your toe into color less scary if you just pick 1 color to play with.

Another way to “Slideshow Dress” according to Holmes is by repeating silhouettes. I tend to do this in creating outfit recipes that work well for me (like my summer uniform of strappy tank + draw string pant + sandal). I have a friend who loves wide-leg pants; that’s a silhouette that can create cohesion!

For the sake of visualizing it, I immediately thought of Denise Nørgaard, the CEO of Berger Christensen Collective. Denise’s Instagram is worth stalking and you’ll notice that she is really committed to oversized silhouettes. I pulled these images from recent posts and noticed that she is loving a voluminous genie pant.

all images from @denisechristensenbc

Now imagine that Denise wakes up feeling like she doesn’t want to lean into voluminous pants and pivots to cropped jackets. You can see in the picture on the far left that she has voluminous pants + cropped jacket and then the rest of the looks are tied by the jacket silhouette, no longer the pant. Ultimately her wardrobe still feels cohesive because of the repeating silhouette.

all images from Instagram

The thing I like best about Cohesion Dressing is the way it leaves everything on the table for you! You can be a Mermaid Mother this summer and whatever trend comes for us next summer; but still feel like yourself by keeping subtle themes.

At the beginning of the year, I got a bonus at work and I bought myself a collar necklace from Juju Vera. It has become a staple in my outfits because it immediately felt like me; it’s not too large, it’s not fussy, it’s very modern and yet doesn’t feel overly trendy. I love wearing it as my repeated piece and- to my delight- my friends say that now they know it’s me when they see me in it.

necklace ($695) // t-shirt ($45)

Before I sign off, when

Anika Kruger

and I spoke on video we discussed this shared desire we have for distinct style and Anika beautifully reminded me that we all have personal style and we are usually just too close to see it. AND that it’s easy to idolize someone else’s style because we genuinely aren’t seeing what they wear every, single day. I wanted to end with that;

YOU’RE ALREADY DOING IT, AND YOU ARE DOING GREAT!

Have a great week!

Links for all items found here

1. Vacation Kelly™ checking in for duty